August 29, 2010

The Republicans have long waged war on the middle class and now are conning middle class people into voting for them because only “they” can prevent the “evils” of the Obama administration. Let’s see how they are doing:

The administration proposed a “stimulus bill” to jump start the economy. Republican Response: Filibuster in the Senate, no votes (to speak of) in the House.

Trying to mollify the Republicans, the Democrats include almost $300 Billion dollars of tax cuts in the “stimulus bill.” Republican Response: the stimulus bill clearly did not create or save any jobs “not one,” because only tax cuts could do what we wanted. (Apparently the cost of just under $300 Billion of tax cuts to create “not one” job is fine with them.)

Republicans claim the “stimulus bill” has neither created nor saved any jobs “not one.” The nonpartisan CBO states that the stimulus bill has saved or created 8,800,000 jobs.

The administration proposed long overdue health care reform, taking a centrist approach originally proposed by . . . Republicans. This came at a time when multiple millions of Americans had lost their health benefits due to losing their jobs during the Bush Recession. This came at a time when the health insurance industry had run amok wringing excessive profits out of sick people, etc. Republican Response: Filibuster in the Senate, no votes (to speak of) in the House, but only after accusing the President of being a socialist and a Nazi.

The Republicans blame President Obama for the “bank bailouts.” President Bush created TARP under the urging of his economic team and with bipartisan support from Congress.

The Democrats offer legislation to extend jobless benefits to those hit hardest by the recession. Republican Response: Filibuster in the Senate, no votes (to speak of) in the House, but only after referring to the jobless as “shiftless and lazy.”

The Democrats offer to extend the Bush tax cuts to the bottom 98% of Americans. Republican Response: The Republicans blame the Democrats for the pending “huge tax increases” originally designed to “sunset” at the end of this year by . . . the Republicans under President Bush and decry “class warfare” on the rich.

So . . . the Republicans have decided that there is no need for statecraft, no need for imagination, no need for skill, they only need politics to accomplish their aims. If they have decided to put all of their money on politics, why are they so bad at it? What would they have done instead? Given more tax cuts to the richest Americans (who, all the studies show, do not create jobs with the money)? Start another war? What?

And for this, we are expected to vote for them?

No, we are expected to vote for them because of the state of mindless fear they have been working on for decades.